I’m not normally one for fads, but I’ve been giving a lot of thought to creating a bucket list: a collection of items, experiences, and life scenarios I want to take part in before I die. It’s not that I feel the need to document or share my private aspirations, per sey; more so, I know I won’t follow through with many of them unless I make them a priority in my life. And what better way to prioritize something in your life than a to-do list, right?

While this isn’t a complete list and I expect it to evolve as I grow, mature, and my family dynamics change, here are just a few things I want to experience before I die:

1. Go skydiving. I want to experience what it feels like to fall from Heaven. I want to experience real fear, real exhilaration, and real weightlessness.
2. Give $1,000 to a stranger. I want to do a random act of kindness that does more than fill a belly once, or warm their hands for a few minutes. I want to give a gift that can actually help someone improve their status, and $1,000 is enough for a few new outfits, a month of rent, and an electric bill. It could be the fresh start someone needs to change their whole world.
3. Visit Thailand. I want to experience a culture and a world that is completely different from my own. I want new smells, new sights, and new tastes. I want to visit a place that changes me completely, and brings new respect and love for the many blessings I have.
4. Run a marathon. I’ve said this countless times, but always fall short. I’ve never registered for one (despite saying I would), and it’s time I finally put my money where my mouth is.
5. Participate in the real Oktoberfest. No explanation needed.
6. Attend an Olympic Games event. It would be amazing to witness the culmination of a person’s life passion in application, and I’d love the excuse to visit a new location in the process.
7. Go to a Community/Communal Bathhouse in Europe. I want to be surrounded by people at home in their bodies and comfortable with their nudity; perhaps it will rub off.
8. Learn to ski.  As a Floridian, my exposure to snow has been limited, at best. I would love to try out a sport that so many people across the world enjoy.
9. Get my Doctorate.  I’ve always wanted to be Dr. Webster(-Perez).
10. Take a train ride across the U.S.  I want to experience the United States from the retro-comfort of a passenger cabin. All the joys of are a road trip, all the comforts of a plane.
11. Visit the Louvre.  Over 6,000 pieces of art spanning 650,000 square feet of space. Yes, yes, and more yes.
12. Take the Rim-to-Rim hike at the Grand Canyon.  Combining my love of the outdoors, physicality, and one of the world’s most beautiful natural phenomena, this is a definite for my bucket list.
13. Spread my father’s ashes on the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I’ve held on to them for almost a decade. It’s time to return my father to his home.
14. Learn to crotchet.  Both my mother and grandmother can do it, and yet I’ve never asked them to teach me. I need to remedy that before the art form is lost to our family!
15. Take a whale-watching cruise.  I’d love to witness these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.
16. Donate blood regularly.  I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t donated blood in years. After one bad experience (they collapsed a vein, which was quite painful), I’ve avoided it for over a decade. I realize how many people I’m denying of a life-saving gift due to my fear, and I’d like to go back to a habit of donating 3-4 times per year.

I’m sure I have many more items I’ll add to this list in the coming years, but this is a good starting point and I believe I can accomplish all of them in the next few years with a little planning and saving on my part.

Oh, and before I forget to count my blessings, here are a few things I have checked off of my Bucket List in the last few years:

1.  Seeing the (NYE) ball drop in Times Square.  (Accomplished December 31st, 2014 – January 1st, 2015)
2.  Flying in a hot air balloon.  (Accomplished August 2013)
3.  Visit Chicago.   (Accomplished May 2014)
4.  Get nominated for a Pushcart Literary Award.   (Accomplished January 2015)
5.  Graduate as Valedictorian.  (Accomplished October 4th, 2013).
6.  Marry my soulmate.   (Accomplished April 13th, 2007)

What’s on YOUR bucket list?

Thanks for reading,

~ Victoria Elizabeth